The Lone Granger

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/212579/Hayward_Begins_To_Be_More_Aggressive_Offensively Hayward needs to try to score the ball, because that's what they brought him in for. He's not terribly athletic, or even good defensively, but he can put the ball in the basket. He did it at Butler, and he needs to be aggressive here in the NBA for sure. Great to see him starting to flourish. Thoughts?

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/212573/Derrick_Williams_Sees_Himself_As_NBA_Small_Forward That's a very interesting thought. Something that is intriguing is that with his 5-6 three-point performance against Duke, there's a very strong chance he could be a small forward. He's a big man, but can be versatile and play small forward. Maybe this is just me, but doesn't that improve his draft stock? Thoughts?

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/212581/Thunder_Peaking_As_Playoffs_Near What a season this team has had. Their trade deadline was perfect for their needs, and right now if they keep playing this way, they have a shot to compete in the West for the Finals. They have a ton of talent, and a lot of scorers, and I'm very interested to see what happens with them in the postseason. Thoughts?

It's been a very tough season for them lately, but they are now officially in the postseason. Maybe that will help them get their heads up and start playing up to their potential now.

Pacers really need this one tonight. Another game that we should win after the disappointing loss from last night. We need this win to keep the Bucks and Bobcats behind us. Let's get Indiana!

Butler has done it again. What a finish and what about Marshall completely owning the boards down the stretch? Freaking crazy game. Great win for Butler, and they are on yet another magical run. They honestly didn't play that good of a game, but they got the win. And by the way, I did pick Butler in this game .

Very competitive first half that ends with Florida leading Butler 33-32. The Bulldogs haven't been able to get Matt Howard going, as he only has 4. As for Florida, their inside game has been killing Butler all night. Mack having a big game already with 14 though.

Very interesting situation for the Magic. In all seriousness, a team-up with Williams in New Jersey would be almost perfect for all three parties involved. For New Jersey, it gives them that big man that they've been looking for, and another post player opposite Brook Lopez. I guess then comes the question of Deron Williams working with Howard? Well, to be honest, they'd team up perfectly. Howard would open up the inside-out game with Williams, and D-Will would do an excellent job of feeding the post. Win-win-win situation.

Wow, that's just a horrible decision by Julian Wright to refuse to go into the game. First off, like everyone already knows, Wright is just barely hanging on to life in the NBA in the first place. Second, when people see this kind of issue, they aren't going to want him on their team. It's understandable that he's been frustrated by the lack of playing time lately, but this was beyond stupid.

Then that practically does make Derrick Williams the #1 overall draft pick. Good decision for him though. There are a lot of parts to his game that he needs to work on, and probably add more muscle than just overall body weight. Great to hear for OSU fans though.

I'm going to say that for the second year in a row, Butler overcomes all the odds to make it to the Final Four. Do I think they'll win in their Final Four matchup? I honestly do. Now to explain why I think they'll beat Florida this afternoon. Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack are the two biggest names on this Butler team, but I want to bring up another guy that needs to come up huge for them. Shawn VanZant is that starting guard along with Mack in Butler's backcourt. Not sure if all of you watched the game against Wisconsin, but he started out the game very strong and scored 8 points in the first half. They'll need him to put up the same kind of performance in both halfs tonight to beat a very strong Florida team. The Gators' defense isn't as good as Wisconsin's was, but I can promise you they aren't going to miss the number of shots that the Badgers did.

An exciting matchup between two of the best players in the game of college basketball. I'm guessing it will come down to which one comes up bigger down the stretch, and my money is on Kemba Walker. The guy has ice in his vains, as you have seen from his late shots in clutch moments. Can't wait for this game though, should be a good showdown.

I can't wait for this game. VCU's unique offense is what has gotten them to this point, and I'm not sure that the Jayhawks are going to be able to match up too well against it. Sure, they are the better team, there is absolutely no question about that, but can they match up with the speed and shooting? VCU is focused on not getting good, quick looks near the bucket. They want good, quick looks at the three ball. Assuming their shots are falling, this could be a legitimate upset watch.

This is going to be one heck of a game. Like the issue Ohio State had with Kentucky will be the exact same thing for the Tar Heels. Can they stop the athleticism of the Wildcats? Kentucky is able to play a one on one game with every position on the court, which is something that most teams have no chance to do. Can UNC defend all positions well and not like Kentucky get to the bucket?

Sad excuse of a basketball game played by the Pacers.

Thanks Prodigy, good to be back.

It's a very long story that I'm not going to go into haha.

Thanks TheHutch, good to see some more quality posters here as well. I hadn't found a basketball only site with quality posters. Thanks for the welcomes everyone!

Everyone has been saying that the Hornets made a mistake by moving Thornton for Landry but now it's looking like it was a genius move. Obviously, they didn't have a West injury in mind when they made the move, but they knew that they needed more depth there. Very underrated move looking back at the deadline, especially now after this news.

Thanks ChosenOne. Don't worry, this time around I do intend to stick around here at OTR. Thanks for another welcome.

Thanks Dash, I appreciate the welcome. No joke, where are all the Pacers fans? We need to get some more with the recent surge towards the postseason.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/212526/Recent_Run_Has_Put_Rockets_In_Race_For_Playoff_Spot What a run the Rockets have made these last few weeks. I've been watching some highlites of them and is it just me or did they finally start playing as a team and that's what caused this run? Maybe I'm wrong, but they've been very fun to watch, and with the injury issues for both the Hornets and Grizzlies, they could be a darkhorse team to make a run into the postseason. Thoughts?

Yet another very big game for the Indiana Pacers. We got a big win the other night against Charlotte, but the Bucks lost to the Kings the same night, and if we lose this game we basically cancel everything we just won. We need to start this game strong, and dictate from the very beginning that we are going to win this ball game. Go Pacers!

Hey what's up guys? After much thought and decision making, I've decided to make a return to OTR. I know I've made some mistakes here in the past, but I ask that you forgive and forget when it comes to those. In all honesty, I need a spot where I can just discussion quality basketball with good, knowledgeable fans, and OTR is a place that I felt comfortable a few months back. I talked to Real Deal, and we're on the same page, and I look forward to posting here with all of you guys! See you around the boards! -TLG

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/212536/Atlanta_Hawks_Are_A_Team_In_Freefall I never thought that the Hawks would be faltering this badly this year. They have so much talent on that roster, yet they just can't seem to put things together and win basketball games. If they keep this up, then they might even drop down a spot, or at the very least be a quick out in the Playoffs. Thoughts?